Rtf Template and Xsl/Fo Conversion: a New Way to Create Computer Reports

1. A method comprising: reading, by an RTF (Rich Text Format) reader executed on a computer system, a first portion of a first template document expressed in RTF format, wherein the first portion is an initial portion of the first template document, corresponds to a paragraph block in the first template document, and defines within content of the first portion of the first template document a type and one or more attributes; instantiating, by an RTF (Rich Text Format) parser executed on the computer system, a root data object based on the type and one or more attributes associated with the first portion, wherein the root data object includes an executable method for outputting source code in Extensible Stylesheet Language (XSL) format that corresponds to the first portion; reading, by the RTF (Rich Text Format) reader, a second portion of the first template document, wherein the second portion is a next portion of the first template document after the initial portion of the first template document, defines within content of the second portion of the first template document a type and one or more attributes including a placeholder tag, a transformation tag, a block of static content, or a formatting attribute in the first template document; instantiating, by the RTF (Rich Text Format) parser, a child data object based on the type and one or more attributes of the second portion, wherein the child data object is instantiated as a child of the root data object in an object hierarchy, and wherein the child data object includes an executable method for outputting source code in XSL format that corresponds to the second portion; generating, by the RTF (Rich Text Format) parser, a second template document expressed in XSL format and based on a hierarchy of the first template document represented by the root data object and the child data object by executing the method included in the root data object and the method included in the child data object; and combining, by the computer system, the second template document with report data to generate a report.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the placeholder tag specifies a location for report data wherein the formatting attribute specifies formatting of report data, and wherein the transformation tag specifies a transformation to be performed on report data.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the transformation tag specifies a repetition of report data.

4. The method of claim 2 , wherein the transformation tag specifies a visual summary of report data.

5. The method of claim 2 , wherein the formatting attribute is implicitly defined using formatting features of a word-processing application.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein each of the root and child data objects are instantiated with a set of attributes, the set of attributes derived from the corresponding portions of the first template document.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein invoking the method included in the root data object causes the method included in the child data object to be automatically invoked.

8. A system comprising: a database configured to store a first template document expressed in Rich Text Format (RTF); and a server computer in communication with the database, the server computer being configured to: read a first portion of the first template document, wherein the first portion defines within content of the first portion of the first template document a type and one or more attributes; instantiate a root data object based on the type and one or more attributes associated with the first portion, wherein the root data object includes an executable method for outputting source code in Extensible Stylesheet Language (XSL) format that corresponds to the first portion; read a second portion of the first template document, wherein the second portion defines within content of the second portion of the first template document a type and one or more; instantiate a child data object based on the type and one or more attributes associated with the second portion, wherein the child data object is instantiated as a child of the root data object in an object hierarchy, and wherein the child data object includes an executable method for outputting source code in XSL format that corresponds to the second portion; generate a second template document expressed in XSL format and based on a hierarchy of the first template document represented by the root data object and the child data object by executing the method included in the root data object and the method included in the child data object; and combine the second template document with report data to generate a report.

9. The system of claim 8 , wherein the placeholder tag specifies a location for report data.

10. The system of claim 8 , wherein invoking the method included in the root data object causes the method included in the child data object to be automatically invoked.